Funeral director accused of stealing $300K from elderly neighbor

NORTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A funeral director in North Philadelphia is under arrest, charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from an elderly woman.

The 89-year-old victim's niece and nephew contacted the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging a year ago.

Police say after a year-long investigation, funeral director Antoine Turay turned himself in today Wednesday.

Detectives from the Special Victims Unit worked with forensic accountants to comb through all of the victim's accounts he allegedly stole from.

Between 2009 and 2013 police say Turay stole more than $300,000 from an elderly neighbor who suffered memory loss after a fall.

Philadelphia Police Lieutenant Anthony McFadden says, "He took advantage of it, where he was actually taking his own bank accounts and transferring monies back and forth, paying off his credit cards."

The victim lives near Turay's business - Turay Memorial Funeral Chapel, located in the 2500 block of North 22nd Street.

Neighborhood resident Chuck Ivey tells us, "I heard he was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. I really can't believe it."

Neighbors often saw Turay dropping off food to the victim. Police say he gained her trust and even called her grand mom.

"He was taking her to doctors appointments, he was driving her around, he was doing whatever he could possibly do, just to gain her trust. Meanwhile, behind her trust, he was stealing everything that she worked hard for," McFadden said.

It was the victim's alert niece and nephew who noticed missing money in the multiple accounts she had, then they reported it to authorities.

Police say besides pilfering her accounts, Turay took control of some of her accounts and even sold a home the victim inherited that is adjacent to Turay's business.

She had no idea it was sold and never saw a dime.

Lieutenant McFadden says, "She worked as a school teacher for forty years of her life. She did nothing but save."

Speaking for Antoine Turay, his attorney said Thursday that his client loved the victim like a grandmother and the allegations are, "outrageous in their scope and misleading in their presentation".